A comprehensive new resource designed to help clinics, hospitals, and healthcare systems integrate screenings for non-medical drivers of health has earned prestigious placement in two major academic and research databases.
The Salud America! Action Pack, titled “How to Start Screening for the Non-Medical Drivers of Health (NMDoH),” is now featured in both a national repository managed by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and a Texas-focused database hosted by Rice University. This widespread recognition highlights a growing movement across the healthcare sector to look beyond traditional clinical settings and address the fundamental, everyday circumstances that shape patient outcomes.
The resource toolkit is now officially listed in UCSF’s national database, the Social Interventions Research & Evaluation Network (SIREN). At the same time, it has been integrated into Rice University’s Texas-focused platform, the Evidence-to-Practice for Non-Medical Drivers of Health (E2 Practice NMDOH) database. These inclusions place the toolkit within reach of healthcare administrators, clinicians, quality improvement teams, and community health advocates seeking practical, evidence-based methodologies to launch or refine NMDoH screening programs in their facilities.
Developed by a team led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio, the action pack provides a comprehensive suite of practical materials. These include a model email designed to start vital conversations among hospital leadership and clinical staff, an informative fact sheet, a structured checklist for developing screening workflows, and an exhaustive guide reviewing existing screening tools currently utilized across the healthcare landscape.
Dr. Ramirez, who serves as the director of the Salud America! national health communication program, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, and leads community outreach and engagement for the Mays Cancer Center, emphasized the profound impact that identifying these non-medical needs can have on clinical care.
“Screening for the non-medical drivers of health can help clinicians better understand patients, connect patients to community support, and spotlight the root causes of health issues,” Dr. Ramirez stated.
Why Do We Need Screening for the Non-Medical Drivers of Health?
For decades, the traditional medical model has focused heavily on treating acute symptoms and managing chronic diseases within the four walls of a doctor’s office or hospital room. However, public health experts increasingly recognize that clinical care accounts for only a fraction of a person’s overall well-being. The vast majority of health outcomes are driven by social, economic, and environmental factors—collectively known as non-medical drivers of health, or social determinants of health.
To truly improve patient and community health, healthcare systems are finding that they must actively address NMDoH issues, such as reliable access to safe housing, dependable transportation, and consistent sources of nutritious food. When patients face continuous hardships in these areas, managing conditions like diabetes, hypertension, or asthma becomes remarkably difficult, no matter how advanced the medical treatment plan may be.
That is where systematic screening for NMDoH enters the picture. NMDoH screening involves utilizing standardized questionnaires administered to patients during routine healthcare visits. These tools are specifically designed to help healthcare providers identify unmet social and economic needs, ranging from financial instability and housing insecurity to food scarcity and lack of transportation.
Once these vulnerabilities are identified through the screening process, patients can be directly connected to supportive community resources and social service agencies capable of providing tangible relief. In the modern healthcare environment, implementing NMDoH screening allows hospitals, community health centers, and private clinics to systematically identify and address health-related social needs at the individual patient level, while simultaneously gathering vital aggregate data to inform broader community health interventions.
Across the United States, forward-thinking healthcare organizations are already demonstrating the tangible value of this approach. Prominent institutions such as Nemours Children’s Health, various Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and pediatric health systems in major metropolitan areas—including Dallas Children’s—have successfully integrated social needs screening into their daily workflows, proving that looking beyond traditional medicine is essential to curing families’ broader challenges.
How Does This Action Pack Help You Start Screening for Non-Medical Drivers of Health in Healthcare?
Translating the concept of social needs screening into a functioning clinical workflow can often feel overwhelming for healthcare administrators and clinical staff who are already managing heavy patient loads and complex operational demands. The Salud America! Action Pack was specifically engineered to bridge that gap, providing a clear roadmap to help healthcare teams initiate or refine screening protocols within their unique operational environments.
The comprehensive toolkit is the result of a collaborative initiative between the Salud America! program and the ACS Avanzando Salud Center at the Institute for Health Promotion Research, housed within the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio. By breaking down the implementation process into manageable components, the action pack equips multidisciplinary teams with the exact tools needed to build internal consensus, select appropriate assessment tools, and establish reliable referral pathways.
Furthermore, healthcare organizations utilizing the action pack have access to specialized technical assistance. Designated Salud America! action pack coaches are available to help facilities customize implementation materials, navigate operational hurdles, and answer logistical questions tailored to their specific patient populations and community contexts.
“Screening for the non-medical drivers of health can help clinicians and non-clinicians identify patients’ immediate needs outside the doctor’s office,” Dr. Ramirez noted. “This gives providers insight into patients’ real-world experiences, which helps referrals to relevant community resources.”
